delboysim

The one important geological feature thats missing on any SC4 map is ............... waterfalls. Would it be at all possible to design some kind of modification to enable the water table level to be altered in different parts of a region ? At the moment, if you take a river from high mountains down to flat plains, the only way the program can do it is by carving a huge canyon through the mountains. Would it not be a beautiful sight to see a shallow river originating high in the mountains, winding its way down to the plains below ? If one of the experts on ST could make such a mod it would be a spectacular improvement in what is already a superb game :-)

There has been some controversy of late regarding the use of terrain height modifications when rendering maps downloaded from the STEX. As the two most prolific map makers in recent months, myself and Blade2k5 have conducted some reasearch, designing maps with and without terrain mods. We both agree that it is perfectly viable to create a nice looking, realistic, playable map WITHOUT the use of terrain mods - take a look at Blades recent maps ! The major problem pertaining to the use of these mods, is the fact that once installed they alter the height of EVERY map thats loaded into the game, and will OBLITERATE any previously built on region made with a normal map, and if a user downloads a NORMAL map whilst having the mod installed it will NOT RENDER CORRECTLY. This is causing anger and frustration to many many users who quite frankly want to sit back, relax, download a nice looking map, render it, and play it. They do not WANT to go through a tedious procedure of having to install a mod to play a MINORITY of maps and then have to remove the mod to play the MAJORITY of maps on the STEX, or indeed the maps that come with the game. I am well aware that there is a program available that allows the user to select which mods, bats, lots, textures, etc are loaded with each region played. This prog is GOOD but requires more than a modicum of knowledge in how folders are organised on the PC. There are of course many people on this site, who are in fact computer geniuses. But there are THOUSANDS who are not, who just wanna play the game as easily and as relaxing as possible, without having to sit down and THINK uneccessarily. I applaud in the strongest possible terms the exceptionally talented, small group of people on this site for thier dedication and skill in making the most amazing additions to this excellent game. But I would say to all of them - PLEASE just keep it as simple as possible, and bear in mind that the overwhelming majority of people on this site are NOT computer geniuses.